Readings and Publications

AAC&U's publications cover a range of topics and provide the latest research, analysis, and valuable starting points for campus practitioner and policy leader dialogues. AAC&U monographs, reports, and guides focus on teaching, learning, curriculum, and academic leadership, and shine a spotlight on promising practices at every kind of college and university. See below for all AAC&U publications. Click on titles to purchase or download copies.

AAC&U also publishes three periodicals, Liberal Education, Peer Review, and Diversity & Democracy, and a monthly online newsletter, AAC&U News, to advance the national dialogue about the quality of undergraduate education in the United States.To learn more about AAC&U publications please go to: https://www.aacu.org/publications

When I assigned an 800-page biography of Andrew Carnegie for a new undergraduate course on wealth and poverty at George Mason University a few years ago, I wasn’t sure the students would actually read it. Not only did most of them make it to the end, however, but many thanked me for giving them the chance to read a popular work of history. Curious, I inquired how many were history majors. Of the 24 honors students in the seminar, there were none. English? Philosophy? Fine arts? Only one. How was this possible? I asked. Almost in unison, half a dozen replied: “Our parents wouldn’t let us.” Read more >>

In college classrooms, American young people need to be taught how to think and to analyze, even in areas outside their chosen fields, because we need them to contribute to our nation’s intellectual well-being. Higher education should do more than simply prepare our nation’s young people to earn higher incomes and therefore the value of a liberal arts education should not be casually discounted, despite all the attention being paid to so-called STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) curriculum by certain educators and politicians. Read more >>

The job market’s most sought-after skills can be tough to spot on a résumé. Companies across the U.S. say it is becoming increasingly difficult to find applicants who can communicate clearly, take initiative, problem-solve and get along with co-workers. Those traits, often called soft skills, can make the difference between a standout employee and one who just gets by. Read more >>

Class of 2020, welcome to college. Right about now, your future professors are probably sitting in a faculty meeting, rolling their eyes at their dean’s recitation of the annual Beloit College Mindset List, which catalogs the cultural touchstones of your lives. Read more >>

In August of 2016, President Cornwell of Rollins College gave his second annual convocation and matriculation address. Cornwell began his speech by saying, "What I want to do in my remarks today is talk about our mission, our common purpose as a liberal arts college. I think it is important to remain mindful that our work here together is a social investment into the future, not just of our students, but of global civil society. This is why we are gathered here. It is why Rollins College was founded in 1885 and why it exists today." Read more >>

Weekly Liberal Education News Watch Week of August 15–19, 2016

Weekly Liberal Education News Watch

Week of August 15–19, 2016

See these important recent articles of interest to AAC&U members—and all those who care about liberal education and inclusive excellence. AAC&U archives other liberal education news stories online at www.aacu.org/liberal-education-news-watch and stories on issues of equity and inclusive excellence at www.aacu.org/press/news-watch/inclusive-excellence. The Weekly Liberal Education News Watch e-mail will not be sent on August 26 or September 2. The weekly e-mail will resume on September 9, 2016.

Sean Decatur is president of Kenyon College, a position he has held since July 2013. He spoke at the Aspen Ideas Festival on June 30th on a panel called "Myth or Reality: If You Want a College Education, You Can Get One." Below, Decatur describes the benefits of a liberal arts education. Read more >>

In the midst of a presidential campaign in which bigotry, lack of respect and an absence of critical thinking have become the hallmark of one candidate, we have a great deal to learn from liberal arts students in the State of Washington. Read more >>

Over the next several weeks 18.4 million students will be headed to colleges and universities in the United States. They, their families and taxpayers are making a monumental investment in the futures of these students, believing, correctly, that an undergraduate education is foundational to success in a global and knowledge-based economy. Many students arrive in college without a clear sense of purpose or direction. That is to be expected. Read more >>

What skills and knowledge do Pioneer Valley employers look for in their recent hires? That was the focus of a spring 2016 survey conducted by Greenfield Community College (GCC). More than 125 businesses, municipalities, nonprofit organizations, and schools weighed in on the college-learning outcomes they value the most. Read more >>

When most people talk about beefing up STEM education, they mean expanding the availability of the integrated learning of science, technology, engineering and math classes. It’s needed, proponents say, because there simply aren’t enough young Americans educated well enough in these subjects to take the available jobs in the 21st Century economy — and because there is a huge STEM achievement gap between whites and blacks, the poor and the wealthy. Read more >>